GEORGIA.
Tuesday is primary day in Georgia. Five Dems are competing in
the US Senate primary, although any of them will be a decided
underdog against incumbent Saxby Chambliss (R) in November. While
several House incumbents face primary opponents, only two are
engaged in truly competitive primary races. In CD-10, freshman
Congressman Paul Broun (R) -- a self-proclaimed ally of libertarian
Congressman Ron Paul -- is being challenged by social conservative
State Representative Barry Fleming. Broun won the special election
last year in an upset, following the death of Congressman Charlie
Norwood (R). The local GOP establishment is backing Fleming, as
Broun is seen as a loose cannon, but the incumbent appears to
have a slight edge in recent days. In CD-12, Blue Dog Dem Congressman
John Barrow faces a challenge from State Senator Regina Thomas.
Thomas, who is black, is hoping for a large black primary turn-out.
She argues Barrow is a good man but far too conservative to represent
the Democratic Party. Barrow, who is well-financed, believes his
views are solidly in line with the district.

ALABAMA.
Two Congressional primary run-offs on Tuesday. In CD-2, State
Representative Jay Love and State Senator Harri Ann Smith are
locked in a nasty and highly competitive GOP race. No clear favorite,
although the NRCC has lined up behind Love. The winner will be
slightly favored over Montgomery Mayor Bobby Bright (D) in November.
Congressman Terry Everett (R) is retiring. In CD-5, advertising
executive Wayne Parker should defeat attorney Cheryl Baswell Guthrie
(R) by a comfortable margin. However, State Senator Parker Griffith
(D) is favored to win the general election for the seat being
vacated by retiring Congressman Bud Cramer (D).

NORTH
CAROLINA. Move freshman Congressman Heath Shuler (D)
into the safe column, based upon the recent bizarre conduct by
his GOP opponent. According to The Hill, Asheville City
Councilman Carl Mumpower (R) has informally suspended his campaign
until he can get a majority of the fifteen Republican county organizations
in CD-11 to sign his statement of core principles. Until then,
Mumpower said he will not advertise his candidacy or collect any
campaign contributions. "I’ll fight my party first,
and then take on my opponent after we’ve accomplished that
job," said Mumpower. While Mumpower is generating headlines
in his district over these antics, he is alienating leaders of
his own party and the NRCC. "I can go along with him asking
for a recommitment to those principles, but I don’t know
if I go along with him suspending his campaign," said Buncombe
County Republican Party Tim Johnson to the Asheville Citizen-Times.Posted
by Ron Gunzburger - 07.15.08 | Permalink
|

GREENS.
Former six-term Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia
McKinney (California) easily won the Green Party nomination for
President on Saturday. "War is not going to be my energy
policy," McKinney told the delegates. She captured 313 votes
(60%) on the first ballot. Ralph Nader (I-CT) -- who did not actively
seek the nomination -- was second with 78.5 votes (15%). McKinney
named hip-hop political activist Rosa Clemente (NY) as her VP
runningmate, which the delegates accepted by a show of hands.
McKinney is also seeking the Peace & Freedom Party nomination
for ballot access in California, and said she intends to qualify
for federal matching funds. Rival Presidential candidates Nader,
Gloria LaRiva (Socialism & Liberation), and Brian Moore (Socialist)
are also seeking the PFP nomination at the August 1-3 convention.

US
SENATE. According to conservative columnist Robert Novak,
US Senator Joe "Lieberman (I-CT) will be kicked out of the
party's caucus next year and lose his Senate chairmanship if he
addresses the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn.,
as planned."

P2008.
In an interesting development, US
Senators Chuck Hagel (R-NE) and Jack Reed (D-RI) will accompany
Barack Obama on his upcoming visit to Iraq. Both Hagel and Reed
are Vietnam War veterans. Also, US Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) and
Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius (D) acknowledged they are each
being extensively vetted as part of the Obama VP search process.

US
SENATE. NRSC Executive Director Scott Bensing made these
comments Friday to the Kansas City Star: "The Republican
brand is really bad in many parts of the country, with Kansas
being better than many, but still not good. [GOP Senator Pat Roberts
versus Democrat Jim Slattery] is not a top-tier race, but it’s
one of those where, should Democrats come into a bunch of money,
it’d be a race."

INDIANA.
State Senator John Waterman (R) fell far short of the petition
requirements to secure a spot on the ballot as a gubernatorial
candidate for his conservative Taxpayers Party. According to Ballot
Access News, Waterman collected only 3,000 of the roughly
38,000 signatures needed by the state's deadline.

LOUISIANA.
Candidate filing closed in the state on Friday. Click
here for the list of candidates. This year will see the state's
return to traditional-style party primaries, run-offs and general
elections for the first time since the 1970s. Look for a hotly
contested US Senate race between incumbent Mary Landrieu (D) and
State Treasurer John Kennedy (R). There will also be competitive
congressional races in CD-1, CD-2, CD-4, CD-6 and CD-7. In CD-2,
indicted Congressman Bill Jefferson (D) face seven significant
primary challengers.Posted
by Ron Gunzburger - 07.12.08 | Permalink
|

FRIDAY
NEWS UPDATE.

NO
RECESSION, AMERICANS ARE "WHINERS" SAYS McCAIN ADVISOR;
PREZ, US SEN & GUV POLLS; DEMS INDICTED IN PA FOR USING STATE
FUNDS TO DISRUPT GREENS.

P2008.
Former US Senator Phil Gramm (R-TX) -- an economic advisor
to John McCain's campaign who is frequently mentioned as a frontrunner
for Treasury Secretary in a McCain Cabinet -- said Thursday that
the US economy is actually fine. In fact, he explains the economic
recession is caused by the liberal media and crybaby citizens.
"This is a mental recession ... We have sort of become a
nation of whiners. You just hear this constant whining, complaining
... Misery sells newspapers. Thank God the economy is not as bad
as you read in the newspaper every day," said Gramm to the
Washington Times. "I guess what he meant was it's
a figment of our imagination, these high gas prices. It's not
just a figment of your imagination, it's not all in your heads,
when people are struggling with the rising cost of everything
from gas to groceries ... this economic downturn is not in your
head," quickly responded Barack Obama. "Phil Gramm does
not speak for me. I speak for me. So, I strongly disagree. America's
in great difficulty and we are experiencing enormous economic
challenges," said McCain. The Arizona Senator also joked
that Gramm wasn't under consideration for the Treasury post, at
least not right now: "I think Senator Gramm would be in serious
consideration for Ambassador to Belarus, although I'm not sure
the citizens of Minsk would welcome that." After the initial
backlash, Gramm was entirely unapologetic. "I'm not going
to retract any of it. Every word I said was true," he told
the Washington Post.

PENNSYLVANIA.
Attorney General Tom Corbett (R) on Thursday indicted former House
Democratic Whip Mike Veon (D) and 11 other present and former
Democratic state legislative staffers on public corruption charges.
The counts include theft, criminal conspiracy and unlawful conflict
of interest. According to the grand jury indictments, the 12 accepting
public funds while they worked on the state ballot petition challenges
against Ralph Nader in 2004 and the Green Party's US Senate candidate
in 2006. Although on government payroll, some staffers reported
worked for a full week apiece on the petition challenges and other
were paid by state funds to work on local campaigns. The indicted
staffers -- and at least 40 others -- also allegedly received
roughly $1 million in state-paid bonuses for their work to disrupt
Green Party activities in the state.Posted
by Ron Gunzburger - 07.11.08 | Permalink
|

P2008.
Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson -- a former two-time Presidential
hopeful -- caused a flap when an open microphone picked up some
critical remarks Jackson made about Barack Obama. Referring to
recent remarks Obama
made in black churches about the need for people to take more
moral responsibility in their lives, Jackson quietly whispered
to a fellow TV show panelist "See, Barack's been talking
down to black people ... I want to cut his nuts off." An
open FOX News mic captured the unguarded comments. Congressman
Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL) -- national co-chair of the Obama campaign
-- quickly blasted his father in a written statement: "I'm
deeply outraged and disappointed in Reverend Jackson's reckless
statements about Senator Barack Obama. His divisive and demeaning
comments about the presumptive Democratic nominee -- and I believe
the next President of the United States -- contradict his inspiring
and courageous career ...Revered Jackson is my dad and I'll always
love him ... [but] I thoroughly reject and repudiate his ugly
rhetoric." Reverend Jackson quickly issued an apology: "For
any harm or hurt that this hot mic private conversation may have
caused, I apologize. My support for Senator Obama’s campaign
is wide, deep and unequivocal. I cherish this redemptive and historical
moment. My appeal was for the moral content of his message to
not only deal with the personal and moral responsibility of black
males, but to deal with the collective moral responsibility of
government and the public policy which would be a corrective action
for the lack of good choices that often led to their irresponsibility."

MISSOURI.
The latest Rasmussen survey shows Attorney General Jay Nixon (D)
leading either of the GOP hopefuls for Governor. Nixon leads Congressman
Kenny Hulshof (R) by a vote of 49% to 38%. Nixon leads State Treasurer
Sarah Steelman (R) by a vote of 46% to 37%.

GREEN
PARTY. The Green Party Presidential Nominating Convention
opens on Thursday in Chicago. By the time the party selects a
nominee on Saturday, former Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney
-- now a California resident -- is expected to easily secure the
nod. She already has won a majority of all delegates attending
the convention.Posted
by Ron Gunzburger - 07.10.08 | Permalink
|

US
SENATE. Just one new independent poll to report (and
it's from a totally non-competitive race). In Rhode Island, US
Senator Jack Reed (D) leads casino worker Bob Tingle (R) by a
vote of 72% to 20% according to a new Rasmussen poll.Posted
by Ron Gunzburger - 07.09.08 | Permalink
|

P2008.
US Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) removed himself from the Veepstakes
race, after the Obama campaign search committee informed him last
week he was one of the contenders. "Last week I communicated
to Senator Obama and his presidential campaign my firm intention
to remain in the United States Senate, where I believe I am best
equipped to serve the people of Virginia and this country. Under
no circumstances will I be a candidate for Vice President ...
I am also renewing my commitment to work hard to make sure that
Senator Obama wins both Virginia and the presidency this November
... I will proudly campaign for him," explained Webb in a
written statement.

CONGRESS.
House Republican Conference Chair Adam Putnam (R) warned this
will be a very bad year for Republican congressional incumbents
in the South, regardless of how well John McCain performs in individual
states. "I think you'll see [GOP] House members who won their
last race by 60%-65% percent lose because of the turnout model
that Obama brings," explained Putnam to the St. Petersburg
Times. As for Florida, Putnam thought all of the incumbents
should be able to survive -- but thought four Republicans and
one Democrat were at risk this year: Tom Feeney (R), Mario Diaz-Balart
(R), Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R), Ric Keller (R) and Tim Mahoney (D).
In related news, the non-partisan Cook Political Report
released revised race ratings on Monday, predicting the Democrats
will gain at least an additional 10-20 House seats this year.

ARIZONA.
Retired Congressman Jim Kolbe (R) has withdrawn his support from
the GOP challenger seeking to recapture Kolbe's former CD-8 seat.
Gabrielle Giffords (D) won the open seat contest two years ago.
Kolbe had been backing State Senate President Tim Bee (R) for
the seat, even hosting a recent fundraiser for the challenger.
However, just days after Bee cast the deciding vote to place a
constitutional gay marriage ban on the state ballot in November,
the openly gay Kolbe ended his support of Bee. "For personal
reasons, Mr. Kolbe is no longer associated with our campaign,"
said Bee's spokesman. Arizona voters rejected a gay marriage ban
by a 51% to 49% margin two years ago.Posted
by Ron Gunzburger - 07.08.08 | Permalink
|

P2008.
Barack Obama
will not give his nomination acceptance speech in Denver's Pepsi
Center, site of the Democratic National Convention. Instead, he
will give his address from the significantly larger Invesco Field
sports stadium. The Invesco venue can hold a massive crowd of
75,000 ... The Pennsylvania Green Party suspended their ballot
petition drive to place a Presidential candidate on the state's
ballot this year, acknowledging they far short of the state's
signature requirements ... Pundits joked that if Florida Governor
Charlie Crist (R) wanted to be seriously considered for John McCain's
VP spot, he'd need to quickly get himself married in an effort
to end fairly widespread runors about his sexual orientation.
Well, Crist must have listened to the suggestions. Crist announced
Friday that he and wealthy NYC socialite Carole Rome are engaged
to be married.

SORTA
VACATION (DAY 3). Here's the new daily open thread, as I continue
my impromptu holiday. I had an opportunity to see progressive
Congressman
Robert Wexler (D-FL) on Wednesday as he continues his book
tour for Fire-Breathing
Liberal. Wexler -- who is a vocal voice for impeachment,
an end to the Iraq War, universal health care, and GLBT rights
-- is being challenged by two pro-war candidates. (And, yes,
this was a less -than-subtle plug for both Wexler's book and his
re-election.) Posted
by Ron Gunzburger - 07.03.08 | Permalink
|

WEDNESDAY
NEWS UPDATE.

GOOFING
OFF (DAY 2). Another open thread, as I continue my impromptu
holiday. I'll be back wth news updates on Monday, July 7.Posted
by Ron Gunzburger - 07.02.08 | Permalink
|

TUESDAY
NEWS UPDATE.

A
FEW LAZY DAYS. I decided -- for no reason other than I want
a few days off -- that for this Independence Day week, I'll just
publish daily open threads. Of course, if something major happens
this week I'll post a real update. Otherwise ... it will just
be open threads for a few days. As for me, I've got some books
piling up that I'd like to read, want to spend my post-work hours
at the beach/skating when possible, etc. Oh yeah ... for our
Canadian readers ... Happy Canada Day!Posted
by Ron Gunzburger - 07.01.08 | Permalink
|

US
SENATE. "We are not going to be back in the majority
in the Senate next year. The numbers make that impossible ...
I'm optimistic we can stay roughly where we are," said US
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on Sunday to CNN.
McConnell is one of the GOP incumbents the Dems are targeting
for defeat this year.

GEORGIA.
US Senator Saxby Chambliss (R) holds comfortable leads over all
of his Democatic challengers, according to a new Rasmussen poll.
Depending on the challenger, Chambliss leads by margins ranging
from 13-27 points. In all matchups, Chambliss hovers a few points
above the 50% mark. The closest contest: Chambliss - 52%, former
State Representative Jim Martin - 39%.

NEBRASKA.
According to a new Rasmussem survey, former Governor Mike Johanns
(R) now leads rancher Scott Kleeb (D) by a wide margin of 60%
to 33% in the open US Senate race. Johanns has widened his lead
by 12-points since last month's poll.

UTAH.
Jason Chaffetz (R) -- former Chief of Staff to Governor Jon Huntsman
(R) -- scored a landslide primary victory Tuesday over Congressman
Chris Cannon (R). Until election day, polls showed the two men
locked in a close race. Chaffetz successfully attacked Cannon
as a supporter of asylum for illegal immigrants. Most impressively,
Chaffetz spent under $100,000 on his race and had no paid campaign
staffers. The final vote: Chaffetz - 60%, Cannon - 40%. Chaffetz
is a safe bet to win this CD-3 seat in November. Cannon is the
third US House member this year to lose a primay for renomination.
In other Utah news, a new Rasmussen reports poll shows Governor
Huntsman leading businessman Bob Springmeyer (D) by a 66% to 19%
vote.

EDITORIAL.
Senator Obama, please demonstrate your support for protecting
our civil liberties by supporting Senators Chris Dodd and Russ
Feingold planned filibuster against the so-called FISA "compromise"
(or sell-out, depending upon your perspective). Do not grant immunity
to the telecoms who helped the Bush Administration unlawfully
spy on millions of law-abiding Americans by allowing federal agents
to secretly listen to phone calls without obtaining any warrants.
And -- one other aside -- House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD)
was the key player who helped broker this sell-out deal with the
Republicans, thus proving he is not fit to ever be Speaker. Anyone
who is willing to so readily cast aside our constitutional protections
simply to broker a politics-as-usual deal doesn't have the values
we need in the Speaker's chair.Posted
by Ron Gunzburger - 06.26.08 | Permalink
|

WEDNESDAY
NEWS UPDATE.

OBAMA
OPENS WIDE NATIONAL LEAD; PELOSI'S VEEP PICK; INDIANA GUV POLL.

P2008.
The new Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg national poll shows Barack
Obama leading John McCain by a lopsided vote of 48% to 33%, with
7% split between Bob Barr (Libertarian) and Ralph Nader (Independent).
In a two-way race, the poll shows Obama leading McCain by a 12-point
margin. These numbers seemingly confirm the Newsweek poll of a
few days ago, which was initially seen as a possible outlier.

Meanwhile,
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said Tuesday that Barack Obama's
VP consideration list should include at least one US House member.
Speaking to Newsweek, Pelosi said Congressman "Chet Edwards
(D-TX) is a person many of us think would be a good person to
have in the [VP] mix." Edwards told The Hill he
was "humbled" by Pelosi's suggestion, but hadn't yet
spoken to anyone in the Obama campaign about the idea. He added
that anyone would "consider it an honor to serve our country
as Vice President."

P2008.
John McCain quickly distanced himself on Monday from remarks by
his senior strategist Charlie Black. In an interview with Fortune
magazine, Black said a new terrorist attack on the United States
"certainly would be a big advantage" for McCain's campaign.
Black also said the December assassination in Pakistan on Benazir
Bhutto "helped us." Replied McCain: "If he said
that -- and I don't know the context -- I strenuously disagree."
Within hours, Black issued an apology: "I deeply regret the
comments. They were inappropriate." In other news, Barack
Obama and Hillary Clinton will hold their first joint unity appearance
in -- of all places -- Unity, New Hampshire, a town in which they
evenly split the vote in the primary. Also, here are the latest
independent polls from swing states:NEW MEXICO (Rasmussen):
Obama - 47%, McCain - 39%. OREGON (SurveyUSA): Obama
- 48%, McCain - 45%. PENNSYLVANIA (Rasmussen):
Obama - 46%, McCain - 42%.

UTAH.
Tuesday is primary day in Utah, but the only primary of note is
the GOP race in CD-3. Congressman Chris Cannon (R) -- a perennial
primary target -- yet again faces another stiff contest. Cannon
is being challenged by former gubernatorial chief of staff and
marketing executive Jason Chaffetz, who was also a BYU college
football player. A Deseret News poll this week shows
Cannon narrowly leading by a vote of 44% to 40%. Chaffetz attacks
Cannon as insufficiently liberal, while Cannon responds that he
is a reliable conservative vote in Congress. The winner of the
GOP primary is a safe bet to win in November.

IDAHO.
Governor Butch Otter (R) is hinting he may work behind the scenes
to defeat bombastic freshman Congressman Bill Sali (R) in November.
Otter is upset that Sali backed a candidate against Otter's preferred
choice for State Republican Chair. Otter's candidate lost, setting
off a new round of open warfare between the two men who have never
been close. When the Idaho Statesman asked Otter -- who
formerly held the CD-1 seat -- if he was planning to get even
with Sali, Otter responded by email: "Wait and see."
Sali is facing an aggressive challenge from wealthy businessman
Walt Minnick (D).

LIBERTARIAN
PARTY. The schism caused the ongoing moderate-versus-hardcore
libertarian wings continues, and now is manifesting itself related
to the LP's Presidential nomination of former GOP Congressman
Bob Barr of Georgia. In New Hampshire, the NHLP is placing college
professor George Phillies onto the ballot as the Libertarian candidate
for President. Phillies, a leader of the LP "reform"
movement of moderates, lost to Barr for the LP nomination. Meanwhile,
the Boston Tea Party
-- which was created two years ago following a bitter rift at
the 2006 LP national convention when the party's platform and
statement of principles was modified -- has nominated a rival
ticket. The BTP nominated Charles Jay for President and Tom Knapp
for VP. Jay, a pro boxing publicist, was the Personal Choice Party
nominee for President in 2004. Knapp is a frequent LP nominee
for office in Missouri. The BTP ticket hopes to qualify for the
ballot in Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, New Jersey, Tennessee
and Utah.

INDIANA.
State Representative Jon Elrod (R) has ended his challenge to
freshman Congressman Andre Carson (D), who won the special election
earlier this year. Elrod called his run for the CD-7 seat a "longshot
race" -- according to the Indiana Star -- as said
he intends to instead jump back into the race for his State House
seat. The party may now select a replacement for Elrod in the
Congressional race, but Carson now must move into the safe category.
"I take no pleasure in walking away from a fight, but two
elections have passed, and the voters have chosen a victor,"
said Elrod, referring to the special election and Carson's subsequent
primary win last month.

NEW
YORK. More sad and politically frustrating news for the
NRCC. Wealthy retired Wall Street executive Frank Powers, 67 --
the Republican Party's officially endorsed candidate for the seat
being vacated by retiring Congressman Vito Fossella (R) -- died
in his sleep on Sunday. Powers had been unanimously endorsed by
the Staten Island Republican Party just a month ago after he promised
to largely self-finance his own campaign. With Powers gone, the
NRCC appears much less likely to field a first-tier for the seat.
New York City Councilman Mike McMahon is the likely Democratic
nominee for the open CD-13 swing seat.Posted
by Ron Gunzburger - 06.23.08 | Permalink
|

THURSDAY/FRIDAY
NEWS UPDATE.

COMPUTER
UPDATE TIME.

Ron
is busy switching over everything from this old laptop to his
new laptop ... which takes lots of time ... so the next update
will be on Monday. Sorry for any inconvenience.Posted
by Ron Gunzburger - 06.19.08 | Permalink
|

P2008.John
McCain is taking a very risky stance calling for expanded off-shore
oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and off the California coast
-- as even Republicans in both those states almost universally
oppose drilling. In Florida, for example, Jeb Bush, Charlie Crist,
and the GOP Congressional members all strongly oppose any offshore
drilling along Florida's Gulf coast. Supporting off-shore drilling
in Florida is seen as an political topic so toxic that Sunshine
State candidates are afraid to even discuss the possibility. GOP
activists in Florida are already worried McCain's new position
could cause problem in Florida, which McCain needs to carry if
he is to have any chance at scoring an electoral victory. Also,
Several new independent polls today from some swing states:KENTUCKY (SurveyUSA):
McCain - 53%, Obama - 41%. MINNESOTA (SurveyUSA):
Obama - 47%, McCain - 46%. NORTH CAROLINA (Civitas/TelOpinion-R):
McCain - 45%, Obama - 41%.OHIO (Public Policy Polling):
Obama - 50%, McCain - 39%.VIRGINIA (Rasmussen):
Obama - 45%, McCain - 44%.

PROHIBITION
PARTY. Just when you think the Prohibition Party is only good
for comic relief ... they go and prove you right. Prohibition
Presidential nominee and pastor Gene
Amondson was a guest this week on The
Weekly Filibuster political radio program in Maine and
he offered rather, umm, unusual views on several topics. Here
are his comments on what causes homosexuality and the sexual molestation
of children: "I had a professor in college that said that
the rising of homosexuality really came when our diets were changed,
when they took out vitamin E, which was found in whole grains
and real butter. You can change the diets of rats and remove vitamin
E from them and rats can become homosexual. So, our diets need
-- if you got kids, feed them whole grains, feed 'em real butter,
none of this margarin -- [and] when I used to go home as a kid
in college, I'd say to my folks, 'Pass the...pass the homo-margarin.'
Well my dad didn't think that was funny -- but our diets need
to be right and if we ... keep having drunk moms and dads...drunk
dads molesting their children, that's where this homosexuality
comes around a lot." Want to know what ruined morality, families
and women? "Now see the Devil woke up and said 'How can I
ruin America,' he says 'this is what I'll do, I'll go to the Catholic
churches and the Protestant churches and I'll get all these women
that used to do things like fight alcohol and I'll get them into
Bible studies and they'll learn scripture, and scripture and they'll
forget about fighting alcohol that hurts our children,'"
explained Amondson. Yup ... everything went to hell in
America when we started using margarine and women started reading
the Bible for themselves instead on trusting their husbands to
tell them what they needed to know.Posted
by Ron Gunzburger - 06.18.08 | Permalink
|

TUESDAY
NEWS UPDATE.

GORE
ENDORSES OBAMA; McCAIN, OBAMA CLOSE IN NEVADA; MARYLAND CD-4 SPECIAL
ON TUESDAY.

P2008.
Monday was a rather light day on the Presidential front. Former
Vice President Al Gore endorsed Barack Obama at a prime time rally
in Michigan. Gore vowed to campaign actively for Obama in the
general election. A new Mason-Dixon/Las Vegas Review Journal
poll shows John McCain leading Obama by a 44% to 42% vote in Nevada.

MARYLAND.
Voters on Tuesday will select a replacement for former Congressman
Al Wynn (D) in a very low-key special election. Progressive attorney
Donna Edwards (D), who trounced Wynn in the February primary in
CD-4, will win in a landslide over Ron Paul campaign activist
Peter James (R). Wynn resigned his seat after his renomination
defeat to immediately accept a lucrative lobbying job.Posted
by Ron Gunzburger - 06.17.08 | Permalink
|

VEEPSTAKES.
On the GOP side, John McCain' joked Friday he's been using Google
to research his possible runningmates. Also, former House Speaker
Newt Gingrich said on CBS's Meet the Press that Louisiana
Governor
Bobby Jindal is "far and away the best candidate" for
VP. On the Dem side, former Virginia Governor Mark Warner has
taken himself out of consideration. Speaking to the Virginia Democrat
Convention this weekend, Warner told the delegates he was "110%
committed" to staying in the open race to replace retiring
US Senator John Warner (R). "Let me be clear about this:
I have been working very hard these last few months to ask the
people of Virginia to give me the honor of being their United
States Senator. I will not seek, and I will not accept, any other
opportunity," said Warner, according to the Washington
Post. Of course, with Warner out of the mix, two more Virginians
seem to remain under consideration: Governor Tim Kaine and US
Senator Jim Webb.

P2008
- GOP. Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) said he this weekend he
will not endorse John McCain for President, reported the Los
Angeles Times. Paul says he still strongly disagrees with
McCain's stance on the Iraq War.

P2008
- DEM. According to the AP, several prominent black conservatives
say they may vote for Barack Obama in November. Conservative talk
show host Armstrong Williams -- who says he has never voted for
any Democrat -- said "for the first time in my life, history
thrusts me to really seriously think about it. I can honestly
say I have no idea who I'm going to pull that lever for in November.
" Former Congressman J.C. Watts (R-OK), once a member of
the House GOP leadership, said he is also considering voting for
Obama. Watts said the Republican Party regularly "neglects"
the black community while the Democrats regularly "reaches
out" to black voters. Watts explained he may cast his vote
for Obama because he expects Obama will seriously address issues
such as poverty and urban policy while "Republicans often
seem indifferent to those things."

FILINGS
CLOSE. Primary candidate filing closed on Friday in Kansas
and New Hampshire. Click on the state names
to view the respective race filings.

LOUISIANA.
Congressman Bill
Jefferson (D) -- who remains under indictment on federal corruption
charges -- has drawn two new primary rivals in recent days. State
Representative Cedric Richmond and Jefferson Parish Councilman
Byron Lee both announced their candidacies for the CD-2 over the
past week. The Louisiana Democratic Party broke with Jefferson
over the corruption issue during the 2006 race, backing his unsuccessful
Dem primary opponent.

MONTANA.
Perennial candidate Bob Kelleher, who earlier this month won the
GOP primary for US Senate in an upset, has announced he supports
abolishing the Presidency and Congress in favor of a Prime Minister
and parliament. That prompted former State House Majority Leader
Mike Lange (R) -- who lost the primary to Kelleher -- to jump
back into the race as a write-in candidate for the general election.
US Senator Max Baucus (D) is a safe bet to score an easy win over
the two challengers.

OKLAHOMA.
State Auditor Jeff McMahan (D) and his wife were convicted on
three federal felony corruption and bribery charges on Saturday,
related to McMahan's past campaigns. Jurors found that the McMahans
knowingly accepted illegal campaign contributions, jewelry and
trips from businessman Steve Phipps. In return, McMahan -- with
his wife's help -- allegedly provided favors for Phipps' business.
The couple was acquitted on five other felony charges. Both of
the McMahans are likely to receive prison sentences -- with Jeff
receiving a longer sentence -- under federal sentencing guidelines
for political corruption cases. "In light of the guilty verdict,
I believe he should resign his office immediately so the state
of Oklahoma can move forward under the leadership of a new State
Auditor," said Governor Brad Henry (D). State House Speaker
Chris Benge (R) said he will quickly initiate impeachment proceedings
if McMahan doesn't resign in the coming days.Posted
by Ron Gunzburger - 06.16.08 | Permalink
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